Tenjho Tenge

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Tenjho Tenge
Tenjho Tenge
Tenjho Tenge
天上天下
(Heaven and Earth)
Genre Martial arts
Manga
Author Oh! great
Publisher Flag of Japan Shueisha
English publisher Flag of Canada Flag of the United States CMX
Demographic Seinen
Serialized in Flag of Japan Ultra Jump
Original run 1998 – Ongoing
Volumes Flag of Japan18[1]
Flag of Canada Flag of the United States 17[2]
TV anime
Director Toshifumi Kawase
Studio Madhouse
Licensor Flag of Japan Avex
Flag of Canada Flag of the United States Geneon
Network Flag of Japan TV Asahi
Original run April 1, 2004 – September 16, 2004
Episodes 24 [3]
OVA: Tenjho Tenge: Ultimate Fight
Director Toshifumi Kawase
Studio Madhouse
Licensor Flag of Japan Avex
Flag of Canada Flag of the United States Geneon
Episodes 2[4]
Released March 16, 2005
Animated film: Tenjho Tenge: The Past Chapter
Runtime 92 minutes[5]

Tenjho Tenge (天上天下 Tenjō Tenge?, lit. "Heaven and Earth") is an ongoing Japanese manga authored by Oh! great. The story primarily focuses on the members of the Juken Club and their opposition, the Executive Council, which is the ruling student body of a high school that educates its students in the art of combat. As the story unfolds, both groups become increasingly involved with a ongoing battle that has been left unresolved for four hundred years.

Tenjho Tenge was serialized in the Japanese magazine Ultra Jump published by Shueisha. It was adapted into a twenty-four episode anime series and aired on TV Asahi in Japan between April 1, 2004 to September 16, 2004. A two-episode original video animation was also made and aired on March 16, 2005. Both versions of the series have been licensed for release in North America by two different companies. The manga has been licensed for publication by CMX, which came under criticism by fans for editing its sexual content.[6] The anime series has been licensed and is being released by Geneon Entertainment (USA).

Contents

[edit] Plot

The plot begins with Souichiro Nagi and his friend Bob Makihara going to their first day of high school at Todo Academy. They had intended to rule the school by beating up anybody that got in their way, as they had done at their previous schools. They soon learn that Todo is no ordinary high school with ordinary students, but is a school that was founded to teach and integrate different fighting styles. Its students are skilled in the various arts of combat with some students possessing supernatural abilities, such as pyrokinesis, precognition, and superhuman strength based of the abilities to use their "spirit" or "ki" in Japanese. After an altercation with the Executive Council, Souichiro and Bob join the only surviving club that opposes them, the Juken club. As the storyline develops, both groups find they are becoming increasingly involved in a long enduring conflict that was left unresolved from the Japanese Feudal era by some of the characters' ancestors.

Tenjho Tenge is an organizational story that uses a character-driven plot. The story uses a dramatic structure in the form of story arcs, which is common for this medium. Oh! great often employs the literary techniques of flashback and back-story for long stretches of the storyline. These techniques are used to enforce the notion of determinism, which is used throughout the story. Much of the combat used in Tenjho Tenge encompasses many philosophical and strategic concepts that is used in Japanese martial arts, such as kiai, aiki, and maai. Both the manga and the anime follow the same storyline, though there are differences. One of these differences is that both the CMX manga and the anime toned down the sexual content and profanity of the original Japanese manga. Another disparity is that the hair color of some of the characters in the anime does not match their hair color depicted on the colored covers of the manga.

[edit] Characters

A collage of Tenjho Tenge's main characters.
A collage of Tenjho Tenge's main characters.
Main article: List of Tenjho Tenge characters
Shin Natsume (棗 慎 Natsume Shin?)
Maya and Aya's deceased older brother. He once was the president of the Executive Council and the founder of the disbanded Team KATANA and the Juken Club. He possessed the family's supernatural power called the Dragon's Eye, which allowed him to have such abilities as precognition, clairvoyance, and clairaudience. Because his power was awakened when he was still a preadolescent,[7] he could not control his powers and was driven insane by them.
Maya Natsume (棗 真夜 Natsume Maya?)
A third year student and the current leader of the Juken Club. She is very skilled in various martial arts, but does not possess the Dragon's Eye like her siblings. For this reason her father entrusted her with the cursed sword Reiki. Early in the series, she would use a body manipulation technique to revert to herself into her childhood form to conserve her ki.[8]
Kagesada Sugano (菅野 影定 Sugano Kagesada?)
A third year student and a founding member of the Juken Club, though he was forced to join.[9] Even though he is arrogant, he is considered to be the weakest member of the Juken Club and most of the time he prefers to hide instead of fighting.
Masataka Takayanagi (高柳 雅孝 Takayanagi Masataka?)
A second year student and Mitsuomi's younger brother. Most of the time he has an easy going personality and is somewhat shy, but his demeanor changes when he becomes angered or serious. When this happens, he becomes a very formidable combatant.
Aya Natsume (棗 亜夜 Natsume Aya?)
A first year student and the youngest of the Natsume family. Like her brother Shin, she has the power of the Dragon's Eye. Although she has problems consciously activating it, she seems to have better control of the power than her brother.
Souichiro Nagi (凪 宗一郎 Nagi Sōichirō?)
A first year student and self proclaimed hoodlum. He is the heir of the Demon Exorcist family. His family's supernatural power is called the Dragon's Fist, which gives them the ability to take supernatural powers from others and use it as their own. This power is often feared and misunderstood by others which caused Souichiro to be socially rejected.[10]
Bob Makihara (ボブ 牧原 Bobu Makihara?)
A first year student who is of African descent. He has been friends with Souichiro since elementary school.[10] He is athletic and practices the Afro-Brazilian martial art of Capoeira.
Mitsuomi Takayanagi (高柳 光臣 Takayanagi Mitsuomi?)
The current president of the Executive Council and of the head of the Takayanagi family. He is a third year student and the top ranked fighter of the whole school. He is a highly skilled and dedicated martial artist. Because of an incident with Shin, he is only able to use his formidable abilities for about three minutes at a time.[11]
Emi Isuzu (五十鈴 絵美 Isuzu Emi?)
A second year student and the current vice president of the Executive Council. She has the ability to manipulate the fat of her overweight body,[12] which allows her to look slender and gives her places to hide throwing knives or other small objects.
Bunshichi Tawara (俵 文七 Tawara Bunshichi?)
A twenty year old third year student and the Executive Council's advisor. Most of the time he prefers to avoid fighting and the school's politics. When he does fight, he utilizes street fighting techniques and is deemed to be highly dangerous considering he was the former top ranked fighter of the school before Mitsuomi overtook the position.[13]
Shirō Tagami (田上 士郎 Tagami Shirō?)
A third year student and the current third division leader of the Executive Council. He prides himself in following the Bushidō code of conduct.[14] He is a practitioner of the martial art Bōjutsu, in which he uses a hybrid bō that can be unlocked into a sansetsukon.

[edit] Media

[edit] Manga

Masataka Takayanagi, in the Tenjho Tenge anime opening scene.
Masataka Takayanagi, in the Tenjho Tenge anime opening scene.

The Tenjho Tenge manga was first serialized by the Japanese monthly manga magazine Ultra Jump, by the publisher Shueisha in 1997. Its serialization was Oh! great's first crossover mainstream comic from writing and illustrating pornographic comics.[15] About two times a year, Shueisha compiles five of Tenjho Tenge's chapters into bound volumes. Tenjho Tenge has been licensed for North American publication by CMX, which is a an imprint of DC Comics. CMX version of the manga is edited in order for it to be rated as Teen "...to give it the widest possible distribution in the United States".[16] According to CMX, these changes were made in conjunction with Shueisha and the Tenjho Tenge creator, Oh! great, who examines each of the CMX's volumes and their changes.[16][17] The manga is popular both in Japan and in North America, with its volumes regularly being in the top twenty best selling manga for both Tohan and Diamond Comic Distributors.[18][19][20][21]

[edit] Anime

Main article: List of Tenjho Tenge episodes

The Tenjho Tenge anime was directed by Toshifumi Kawase, animated by Madhouse Studios, and produced by TV Asahi and Avex. The twenty-four episodes were originally aired weekly on TV Asahi in Japan on Thursdays from April 1, 2004 to September 16, 2004.[3] These episodes where made into eight volume DVD box sets. Two additional episodes were broadcast by TV Asahi in Japan on March 16, 2005 and released in the form of an original video animation named Tenjho Tenge: Ultimate Fight.[4] The anime follows closely to its source material up to the manga's eighth volume with the exception of the sexual content which was toned down.[22] The anime has been dubbed into English, French, German and the Tagalog language.[3] The anime series has been licensed for North America by Geneon Entertainment (USA). They have released all of the DVD volumes except the OVA and the DVD special named Tenjho Tenge: The Past Chapter, which is the back-story told through flashbacks in the second half of the TV anime condensed into the size of four episodes.[23]

[edit] Music

Main article: List of Tenjho Tenge music

The anime's music, including the background music and theme songs, were composed and performed by various artists, such as m.c.A·T and Aiko Kayo whom provided the opening and closing themes songs of the anime. In 2004, Avex record label released the Tenjho Tenge soundtrack and a single.[24][25] In 2005, Avex released two character collection albums.[26][27]

[edit] Reception

[edit] Manga

The Tenjho Tenge manga is described as an "...engaging mix of action and comedy together while wrapping it all up in a large plot that's fairly dark and really violent at times".[28] It is also known for its fighting, spontaneous nudity, and somewhat explicit sex scenes.[29] Even though its creator, Oh! great, is known to flavor his works with wanton sex and violence,[30] it is not done tactlessly. Oh! great uses sex as an important aspect of the storyline by using it as a powerful motivator both negatively and positively.[15] He often has his characters contemplate the significance and importance of fighting as well as the meaning of strength. This conscious deliberation of subjective reasoning and objective truth between characters is the most imperative aspect of story and is considered to be rare in manga.[31] Readers may find that Oh! great's narrative is occasionally hard to follow and at times the plot moves slowly.[32][33] Since the manga is mature in nature, one reviewer found the various explicit sex and nudity scenes disturbing.[29] The artwork in Tenjho Tenge is considered by many to be remarkable, even more so after the manga's third volume was released because of inconsistency early on in the series.[29] Oh! great is known for his characters to have unrealistic body proportions, and Tenjho Tenge is no different. The majority of the female characters have "...ultra large breasts..."[34] and the males characters are extraordinarily muscular, but this facilitates the characters personalities to come through in their distinctive features.[35] Overall, the Tenjho Tenge manga is well received having sold over 10.7 million copies.[36]

[edit] Anime

The Tenjho Tenge anime is described as a significantly toned down version of the Japanese manga, but still retains most of the spirit of its predecessor.[30] Much of the nudity was removed by the animators, but was made up in the way of sexual innuendos, gratuitous cleavage, and panty shots.[37] Since the anime is a close adaptation to the manga, critique of the plot is comparable to the manga's. Some reviewers felt that the anime was handled in a frantic and ill planned manner that made the conclusion not satisfactory even with the original video animation.[38][39] The animation done by Madhouse is considered to be well done. They used bright vibrant colors, solid backgrounds and plenty of visible detail with very little pixelation or jagged movement,[28] but at times used repeated character shots and animations.[37] The animation done during the fight scenes is done in real time and is done as close to reality as possible while still bending, and often violating, the laws of physics.[40] The early fight scenes are thought to be the "...most intense seen in recent anime".[34] The quality of animation in these scenes does drop somewhat over time, but the action still looks better than the average fighting anime.[22] Both the Japanese and English voice acting are considered to be good, but the English dub at times can be a little uneven.[34] The English dub on occasion has poor dialogue which causes it to lose much of the anime's sincerity.[30] Overall, the anime is considered to be above average, but suffers from a lack of a good ending. Mainly because the anime only covered the first arc of the story.[38]

[edit] Music

The original soundtrack for Tenjho Tenge is considered to be average. Most of the music does well with setting the tone within the anime, although some reviewers found it to be somewhat repetitive.[35][41] Some found the drama tracks to be unsatisfactory, even though they were "well executed".[42] For many, the highlight of the soundtrack is m.c.A·T's "Bomb A Head!", which was used as the anime's opening song.[43][44]

[edit] Controversy

CMX came under a great deal criticism for their edits from readers. These edits included the length and breadth of the book, censoring out anything they felt was questionable for a teen audience such as covering up or removing nudity, fanservice, and sexual innuendo as well as a removal of an omake chapter.[45][46] This was done by a brand whose promotional material asserts that it offers "pure manga — 100% the way the original Japanese creators want you to see it."[6] One of grievances made against CMX is that the edits are not only severe, but very noticeable.[47] One review states it is "possibly the most heavily censored title in the history of the North American manga industry."[48] Fans also assert that Oh! great's use of sex in Tenjho Tenge is an important aspect of the storyline.[15] In response, protesters boycott the edited version and even started up their own website.[6][49] Immediately following the controversy, Jake Tarbox, group editor of CMX, resigned from the company. "Tarbox was widely blamed by the fan community for the censoring of Tenjho Tenge, although inside sources suggest that Tarbox was not responsible for the decision to censor the manga."[50] In the face of complaints, CMX had internal discussions about the possibility of publishing an unedited version of Tenjho Tenge, but decided to complete the current version.[51] At the 2007 AnimeExpo, CMX announced that they planned to changed Tenjho Tenge's rating to Mature beginning with volume fifteen, but warned that it still would be edited, but more lightly.[52]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Tenjho Tenge manga volumes listing at s-book (Japanese). Retrieved on 2008-03-26.
  2. ^ Tenjho Tenge manga volumes listing at CMX MANGA. Retrieved on 2008-03-26.
  3. ^ a b c Tenjho Tenge (TV). Anime News Network. Retrieved on 2007-12-30.
  4. ^ a b Tenjho Tenge: Ultimate Fight (OAV). Anime News Network. Retrieved on 2007-12-30.
  5. ^ Tenjho Tenge: The Past Chapter (special). Anime News Network. Retrieved on 2007-12-30.
  6. ^ a b c Reid, Calvin (2005-03-09). Fans Ticked Over Manga Censorship. Publishers Weekly. Retrieved on 2007-12-01.
  7. ^ Ōgure, Ito (2001-12-10), Tenjho Tenge, vol. 7, Shueisha, pp. 48, ISBN 4088762533 
  8. ^ Ōgure, Ito (1998-12-11), Tenjho Tenge, vol. 2, Shueisha, pp. 55, ISBN 4088757416 
  9. ^ Ōgure, Ito (2001-06-19), Tenjho Tenge, vol. 6, Shueisha, pp. 168, ISBN 408876174X 
  10. ^ a b Ōgure, Ito (2003-10-17), Tenjho Tenge, vol. 10, Shueisha, pp. 116, ISBN 4088765192 
  11. ^ Ōgure, Ito (2001-12-10), Tenjho Tenge, vol. 7, Shueisha, pp. 148–149, ISBN 4088762533 
  12. ^ Ōgure, Ito (1998-12-11), Tenjho Tenge, vol. 2, Shueisha, pp. 177, ISBN 4088757416 
  13. ^ Ōgure, Ito (2001-12-10), Tenjho Tenge, vol. 7, Shueisha, pp. 117, ISBN 4088762533 
  14. ^ Ōgure, Ito (1999-07-19), Tenjho Tenge, vol. 3, Shueisha, pp. 57, ISBN 4088758080 
  15. ^ a b c Cha, Kai-Ming. "What's So Great About Ogure Ito?", Publishers Weekly, 2006-08-01. Retrieved on 2007-11-30. 
  16. ^ a b "Interview with DC CEO Paul Levitz 2006, Part 3", ICv2, 2006-08-22. Retrieved on 2007-11-30. 
  17. ^ "CMX on Tenjho Tenge Edits Again", Anime News Network, 2006-07-10. Retrieved on 2007-11-30. 
  18. ^ "Weekly Manga Top 10 (6/28)", Comi Press, 2006-06-29. Retrieved on 2007-12-02. 
  19. ^ "Weekly Japan Manga Rankings (8/01/2007)", Comi Press, 2007-08-01. Retrieved on 2007-12-02. 
  20. ^ Weiland, Jonah. "Top Sales Charts for Actual Sales in May, 2005", Comic Book Resources, 2005-06-17. Retrieved on 2007-12-02. 
  21. ^ Weiland, Jonah. "Top Sales Charts for Actual Sales in May, 2006", Comic Book Resources, 2006-06-16. Retrieved on 2007-12-02. 
  22. ^ a b Santos, Carlo (2005-05-10). Tenjho Tenge DVD 1: Round One. Anime News Network. Retrieved on 2007-12-20.
  23. ^ Shinsen (2005-06-18). Tenjou Tenge: The Past Chapter. Anime Mikomi. Retrieved on 2008-01-13.
  24. ^ Tenjo Tenge GREAT DISC 1. cd japan (2004-09-29). Retrieved on 2008-01-13.
  25. ^ Bomb A Head! V ("Tenjo Tenge" Intro Theme). cd japan (2004-08-18). Retrieved on 2008-01-13.
  26. ^ Tenjo Tenge Character Collection EXTRA BOUT.1. cd japan (2005-01-19). Retrieved on 2008-01-13.
  27. ^ Tenjo Tenge Character Collection EXTRA BOUT.2. cd japan (2005-01-19). Retrieved on 2008-01-13.
  28. ^ a b Beveridge, Chris (2005-04-04). Tenjho Tenge Vol. #1. Anime On DVD. Retrieved on 2007-12-16.
  29. ^ a b c Tenjo Tenge. Hanami Gumi (2002-02-24). Retrieved on 2007-12-16.
  30. ^ a b c King, Patrick (2006-05-03). Tenjho Tenge DVD 6: Round 6. Anime News Network. Retrieved on 2007-12-17.
  31. ^ Bynum, Aaron H. (2005-05-10). Tenjho Tenge - "Round One". Animation Insider. Retrieved on 2007-12-17.
  32. ^ Moure, Dani (2006-07-20). Tenjho Tenge Vol. #2. Anime On DVD. Retrieved on 2007-12-16.
  33. ^ Tenjyou Tenge (manga). x111 (2003-10-06). Retrieved on 2007-12-16.
  34. ^ a b c Gilvear, Kevin (2005-05-20). Tenjho Tenge: Round 01. DVD Times. Retrieved on 2007-12-20.
  35. ^ a b Santos, Carlo (2005-11-23). Tenjho Tenge DVD 3: Round Three. Anime News Network. Retrieved on 2007-12-08.
  36. ^ Shin Angyo Onshi Coming Ending, 10 Years of Tenjho Tenge, and More. Comi Press (2007-07-19). Retrieved on 2007-12-18.
  37. ^ a b Douglass Jr., Todd (2005-06-07). Tenjho Tenge - Round One. DVD Talk. Retrieved on 2007-12-19.
  38. ^ a b Douglass Jr., Todd (2006-08-15). Tenjho Tenge Round 8. DVD Talk. Retrieved on 2007-12-20.
  39. ^ Høgset, Stig (2004). Tenjou Tenge. THEM Anime. Retrieved on 2007-12-20.
  40. ^ Santos, Carlo (2005-09-19). Tenjho Tenge DVD 2: Round Two. Anime News Network. Retrieved on 2007-12-20.
  41. ^ Lineberger, Rob (2005-06-15). Tenjho Tenge: Round One. DVD Verdict. Retrieved on 2007-12-08.
  42. ^ Goodnight, Lauren (2004-12-28). Tenjho Tenge Great Disc. 1. Retrieved on 2007-12-08.
  43. ^ Gilvear, Kevin (2005-05-20). Tenjho Tenge: Round 01. DVD Times. Retrieved on 2007-12-08.
  44. ^ Dong, Bamboo (2005-07-28). Shelf Life: When Nerds Collide. Anime News Network. Retrieved on 2007-12-08.
  45. ^ Dungan, Mike (2005-03-07). Tenjho Tenge Vol. #01 of 15*. Anime on DVD. Retrieved on 2007-12-01.
  46. ^ "Tenjho Tenge Manga Heavily Edited", Anime News Network, 2005-03-03. Retrieved on 2007-12-01. 
  47. ^ Tenjho Tenge v1. Manga Life. Retrieved on 2007-12-01.
  48. ^ Dungan, Mike (2005-03-07). Tenjho Tenge Vol. #01 of 15*. Anime on DVD. Retrieved on 2007-12-01.
  49. ^ Tenjho Tenge manga boycotters website. Retrieved on 2007-12-30.
  50. ^ "Tarbox Resigns from CMX", Anime News Network, 2005-05-11. Retrieved on 2007-12-02. 
  51. ^ "CMX on Tenjho Tenge Edits Again", Anime News Network, 2006-07-10. Retrieved on 2007-12-02. 
  52. ^ Cha, Kai-Ming. "Fans Mob AnimeExpo 2007", Publishers Weekly, 2007-07-03. Retrieved on 2007-12-02. 

[edit] External links

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